Entry Requirements as Predictors of the Academic Performance of Postgraduate Students in Universities in Zimbabwe

Abstract

One of the major strategies that universities use to ensure quality in education is the use of entry requirements as a screening procedure to ensure that only those considered to be the ‘best’ students are admitted. Whether these so-called ‘best’ students eventually perform to expectations academically is an issue on which conclusive evidence does not exist. Also, recruiting students with high entry requirements is viewed in universities as a confidence-building exercise with regard to the quality of graduates churned out by educational institutions. This study, therefore, examined whether a significant relationship exists between entry requirements and the academic performance of postgraduate students admitted into universities in Zimbabwe based on different entry qualifications. The study used a descriptive research design that employed a quantitative approach located in the post-positivist paradigm. A sample of 110 Master of Education in Mathematics (M.EdMT) students admitted into the programme based on the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and the Bachelor of Science Education (BScEd) degrees was randomly selected from a population of 200 M.EdMT students from four universities in Zimbabwe. The t-test and ANOVA were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that degree classifications at the undergraduate level had no significant influence on the academic performance of postgraduate students. It was also concluded that there were no significant differences in the academic performance of students admitted into the M.EdMT programme based on the B.Ed. and BScEd degrees.